“Walmart says faster delivery is changing how customers shop, with more people using 30-minute delivery for everyday needs like diapers, cold medicine and meal ingredients, the company told Axios.

Why it matters: Retailers are increasingly competing on speed — not just price — as Walmart, Amazon, Target and grocery chains battle to become consumers’ go-to platform for urgent shopping.

Driving the news: Walmart says it can now reach 60% of U.S. households in 30 minutes or less. The capability is currently offered in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, St. Louis, Atlanta, Tampa and Oklahoma City, with plans to expand further.”

From Axios.

“Harvard University faculty members voted to cap the number of A’s awarded to students, a grading change aimed at making student marks more meaningful. 

By a vote of 458 to 201, faculty approved a measure that caps the number of A grades at 20%, plus four additional per class, the university confirmed Wednesday. There is no limit to the number of A minuses or other grades that can be awarded. A separate measure that would have allowed courses to opt out of the cap was rejected, 364 to 292.

The new policy, which only applies to undergraduate students, goes into effect in the fall of 2027 and will be reassessed after three years.”

From CBS News.

“Ramp AI Index shows business AI adoption crossed 50% for the first time in March, reaching 50.4% of businesses. A year ago, it was 35%. Half of businesses on Ramp now pay for AI.

Anthropic continued its surge, growing from 24.4% to 30.6% of businesses — a 6.3-percentage-point gain, surpassing last month’s record monthly gain.”

From Ramp.

“Many rural online shoppers are used to waiting half a week or longer for purchases to arrive. Amazon, which disclosed its $4 billion rural delivery push last year, has narrowed that to less than 24 hours for 1 in 5 rural and small-town households, according to a Bloomberg analysis of delivery times for commonly purchased items. The company offers 48-hour delivery to 62% of rural households, the analysis found.

The payoff could be huge. Rural shoppers in the US collectively spend $1 trillion a year on clothing, electronics, household goods and other items, representing about 20% of retail purchases excluding cars and gasoline, according to Morgan Stanley. Amazon aims to recondition those shoppers to expect quick delivery, which would play to its strengths and make the company top-of-mind for online purchases.

Amazon’s biggest obstacle is Walmart Inc., which claimed the heartland decades ago during an aggressive expansion on its path to become the world’s largest retailer. Walmart has spent years training rural shoppers to come to its stores for groceries and then snag clothes, TVs and crockpots while there. It has a big head start on Amazon in proximity, with stores and Sam’s Clubs located within a 10-mile drive of nearly two-thirds of rural households, Bloomberg’s analysis shows. Walmart is also upping its e-commerce game, turning its thousands of locations into delivery hubs and pickup locations for products ordered online.”

From Bloomberg.